Ad Astra per Aspera
by Terminus
Summary: To the stars and through the differculties. The story of the Hunter with the voice of an android and doesn't want to go to Ragol


Alright, this is my first Fan-fiction. I hope you guys enjoy this. I really like the PSO story, though I only played the game through once, and that was around two years ago. Please read and review. Also, I don't own the game or Sega. If I were to actually own them, I wouldn't give Shadow a gun! Enjoy!

**Phantasy Star**

_Ad Astra per Aspera_

Everyday, it's the same old bullcrap! I'm tired of waiting for a resolution that seems to be nonexistent. People are mistrusting of the slightest evidence of shadowy activity. All of it seems illogical, at times when a disastrous quagmire comes to light, we all should huddle together to support each other. I know it sounds dumb, but it's almost common sense. Fate will play a game of "divide and conquer" when we're all disarranged, and confused and weakened with the casualties we had already suffered. Living in the darkness, searching for the light switch will only leave you with a blindness and misguidance. Things could be better, but things can be worse. Of course, the disunity exists for a reason, but I'm afraid that nothing good will turn out of this, if we choose not to trust others. I mean if I'm willing to dive in and take the plunge head first, then mostly everyone else who doesn't joy in harming others will follow suit in the name of our future and human destiny's. I mean, there are very few with the coldness in their heart to take advantage of instability here. Trading in your future for a power in the present - selling your soul to the devil – exchanging a world's worth of grief and pain for just a second of sunshine is the kind of logic that got us all stuck here.

Years ago, Coral and man had become quaint with chaos. The earth had become drained, because the mistakes of our ancestors made with a few factors from our generation. The future had promised unleashed potential to learn from our father's mistakes. The people of the earth began the Pioneer Project. We were now, in a way in tune with nature then our fore-fathers. Sure, we humans had a few kinks and bugs to work out, but that's something time could be used for. Sadly, we didn't have time. Coral was dying and that was as self-evident as certainty itself. The skies were turning a hazy green over the vivacious blue from our pasts. There was pure and unwanted junk everywhere, revolving around Carol in space and there was garbage floating in dirtier waters, if the scientists could accurately call it water. Sometimes, I wonder how the whole thing got started. We take the planet, drain it, and then try and expect nothing bad to turn out of it. Sometimes, we can be worse then any of the caveman's barbarisms. We humans can be cunning, factious, spiteful and wicked. Somehow, someone (a handful of philosophers refer to her as Fate), decided that it was a good idea to allow us to be superpowers. That thought of how things turned out is pitiful.

Of course, during my youth, it wasn't like I went outside, kicked the dirt and would yell, "Die planet! Die!" No – that isn't how a planet dies. It happens from the thoughtless efforts of others – who are these people? I really don't know. I mean, I don't want any planets to be gone. Could it be a few decisions from some moronic influences that destroyed Coral? Or did I and everyone else have a part in it all? Sometimes, I don't think I would even want to find out…

In desperation and no other secondary plan in sight, the scientists of Carol launched a whole flock of satellites around the endless mass called space. The satellites were supposed to find a new planet suitable for our needs. Everyone went through a phase on Earth – a more optimistic view on everything. We could rebuild, learn from the mistakes of the past, and create the perfect future. There wasn't disagreeable. In a darker view of things, in the history of all mankind, how many times have we told this to ourselves? And look at the situation we were in. Actually, you can view that as a bad thing or as a good thing. Some may argue that things are fine, while some may just toss our achievements aside and dismiss this a bleak period of mankind. Only this time, according to some people, i It was actually different/i As for me, things are fine if things are just there.

Time passed. The light that illuminated the optimists slowly faded. Each satellite brought no news, bad news or no news at all. People thought that there might be alternate answers. That cold feeling in the pit of stomachs manifested to all who valued their lives. Some thought that Doomsday was slowly counting itself down – a few feared it – handfuls refused to accept it - few people made peace with their fate – humanitarians killed themselves and murderers killed more. The intense pressure we felt at that time could've been the driving force to our human behavior back on Coral Genocide wasn't common but became an underground activity and spiked in demographics. The least productive and the giant consumerists became targets. Eugenics became a radical solution that appeased to everyone. When it comes to end of the world, almost everyone is ill-prepared. Though, it was all soon a heedless act; destruction in the name of human survival or dying off with what some call, "a bang" was all a wasted effort. If someone once bombed a city off because they thought that it would really be cool to die with a flare like that, you know that some people care about their influence – good or bad in the human journey.

One of the smaller unmanned satellites brought news from a faraway portion of our galaxy. This satellite brought back evidence of a planet filled with streams of water, fertile lands and the promise that the anxiety that we felt at that time, would go away and would never come back. It wasn't any anxiety; it was the kind that kept you up for not just one night, but for many weeks - The kind of paranoia that would drive the sanest man passed edge of lunacy and back. Anyways, when we first heard of this planet, a colonization plan was give the green light by the many governments. Very soon afterwards, with the combined strength of desperate men, they created a huge space cruiser. They called their achievement the Pioneer One. You could hide cities and millions, perhaps in the hundreds of millions, in the first Pioneer. However, only the elite minds, powers and strengths of mankind were allowed to go on. There are few reports of stowaways as well - some uninvited faces disappeared from Coral; my mother was one of them. There were some people afraid to go on such a ship and make a daring leap, but I don't know why anyone would want to question something like that; what you either got was a foredoomed planet or a planet waiting to be domesticated.

When Coral received signal that the Central Dome - an amazing structure had been completed, through the amazing efforts and stroke of geniuses by others, the new planet, Ragol was now a habitable planet. They said they had built many homes for people, reached into the far depths of the planet, and documented and recorded much about the many animals inhabiting the planet. The Central Dome was bragged out in messages by Pioneer One personal as a utopia – a paradise – and a savior. Many great and beautiful things, like the Central Dome was desired to be seen by the inhabitants of Coral. The skies were always a darker grey; you couldn't even see the moon anymore. They say that many mountains began to crumble and only a low margin of the water was editable. The foolishness of the past was had become alive in Coral. The impatient people of Coral gathered together to build a second pioneer ship. A world-wide effort, the construction of Pioneer Two was a large success. The ship was more then capable then handling the population and more. We even elected a government to run things on the ship for us.

So, the Pioneer Two lifted off when I was thirteen. To be frank, I didn't know what to expect - but hey, it was better then the crappy planet I lived on at the time, plus a condition made it hard for me to breathe the air. I had nothing to lose on the Pioneer Two; so, I boarded the ship wordlessly with grace. To this day, I'm not even sure that we took everyone with us. The thought of people actually being left behind feels cold and numb in my head. Then I remember that even though the forgotten people received a planet on its deathbed, mostly every factor in weakening it has been gone, time could heal it. In fact, if we do land and weaken Ragol, we could return back to Coral. However, I don't see that happening any time soon.

Living life on the Pioneer Two wasn't really exciting. Outer Space looks exhilarating the first few hours when you're on a cruiser like the Pioneer Two, but afterwards, it grows trite. Or at least for me, I don't really understand how people can find darkness like that exciting. A feeling of "Now what?" would come over me any time I would stare into space for a long period of time. Of course, there was a lot to do while we waited to go to Ragol. The whole entire ship was a metropolis – a city – you could do anything in it. If you wanted to play cards, you could. If you wanted to play around and goof off, you could. I wasn't one to mess around; in fact, I managed to get a Hunter's license on the ship.

Hunter's licenses are given to the hard-working and diligent. Getting a Hunter's license was an experience that I'm unlikely to forget. During one training scenario mission though, some idiot played around with a small laser handgun and shot me in the neck with it. The burning in my neck felt intense, like nothing that I never want to live through again. That idiot was expelled to my delight. I had lost the ability to talk with my voice because of that incident. Surgery gave me a new throat (and got rid of my breathing problem), but the voice given to me is a little too robotic for me. Now, I talk only if I need to. I was given Hunter's License because of my effort and hard work, as well as my ability to overcome my handicap, as they say. With the Hunter's license, I was able to become an official mercenary; I got to follow my own path in life. My father thought I was capable and boundless as they say with my license.

Everything is so electronic on the ship. If you rather not walk, you could step in the transporter, and it'll bring you there in seconds. You could see television screens for bill-board advertisements, trains and monorails to go places with broken transporters. And besides getting an education, there was food to be harvested from underground gardens, damages to be fixed, and people to be calmed down, scientists to test out their theories, there was a lot to be done. In my boredom, I helped to get a few criminals to be incarnated to smaller secondary ships (apparently, that idiot who shot me was one of bad eggs I helped catch). There were actually radicals aboard, people who thought it would be a good idea to kill others "in the name of Coral and Ragol's safety". Lunatics like that should just be shot in the face, but sadly, I would join their ranks if I were to join them.

After a long seven years, we finally arrived at the planet Ragol. Sadly, as soon as we made contact with the citizens of the first colonization, something happened. We're not exactly sure; but it can be assumed bad if everyone from the first pioneer is missing. We know nothing – we don't have any pieces of the puzzle solved as of now. The only thing we know are that spectators from aboard the Pioneer Two report that they saw a huge giant mass of energy just come out of nowhere and devoured Ragol for a quick second. Everyone on the ship felt a great deal of grief in their hearts. The old days were back; the days when you had every reason to fear for yourself and your loved ones, it was the angst that we tried to run away from. As of now, the mercenaries with Hunter's licenses are the only ones allowed to leave the Pioneer Two for hired missions, or search for clues or facts.

Flying around in the space, circling the planet and waiting for the truth to come up among the Hunters seems kind of dull to me, but I don't mind waiting. I have people who care for me onboard, I have food on the Pioneer Two, endless books to read, ideas to exchange, theories to bash and games to play. Though, since the accident, the government has yet to announce anything. I don't know if this kind of activity will continue, though I'm praying for people with their conspiracies and "government toppling" plans could just shut up and find a real way to aid mankind.

Sometimes, the idea of being on a new planet pleases me. I have nothing stopping me from going, but now I rather not join now. There's no need to take a risk now when you have almost every mercenary on the job to investigate the mystery.


End file.
